Author: Zoe Zaneteas

I know that I’m not the first to say it, but I love college. I adore the fact that I can do nothing in the middle of the day and that I live thirty seconds away from my friends. However, despite my newfound freedom, I, and many like me, felt a void in our hearts once we arrived on campus. This can only be explained by one thing: the absence of our cats.

Without Creamsicle, my kitty at home, I have turned to the internet to keep felines in my life. Yet videos of Maru the Japanese cat and his boxes, kittens falling asleep, and all the memes Reddit can provide just aren’t the same as cuddling with my little buddy before I go to sleep.

October 29th was National Cat Day, and, in my personal opinion, the best day of the year. At school, I find myself missing the days when I would find cat hair on my clothing, for the fluffy white fur on my black leggings meant that I got to cuddle with Creamy. No more than one week into my first semester here, I had decided that I would be getting a cat of my own the second my living situation permitted it, and Ithaca is not short of furry friends looking for homes. If you’ve ever been to Collegetown at night, you may have seen one of the many stray kitties roaming around the streets, looking for love.

One night, I was spending time with some friends around Insomnia Cookies (Chocolate Chunk is the best, and I am right), and what did we find? The most adorable white kitty you’ve ever seen in your life. Scooter instantly became my best friend and he and I cuddled all night. The next morning, a friend and I drove him to the Ithaca Tompkins SPCA and he’s now up for adoption along with so many other amazing animals in need of homes. Saying goodbye to Scooter was one of the few times in my life when in literally “couldn’t even.” I’d never truly been alone before I came to Cornell, even as an only child, because I’d had a cat.

So what does this have to do with you? Or Cornell? Or anything other than me and my bizarre love for the feline species? Although I encourage those of you who are able to take a leap of faith and get out there to give an animal, cat or not, a home for the rest of their lives, I realize that it may be difficult for many to commit to keeping an animal in college. However, upon extensive investigation, I can confidently claim that Cornell is an environment well-suited to current or potential cat parents.

Those with feline friends can take advantage of multiple services to make caring for them much easier. If you’re not sure if you can afford to keep a cat here at school, it might ease your mind to know that the Cornell Feline Health Center offers Patient Assistance, designed to help pet owners pay their veterinary bills. You can also subscribe to CatWatch, the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine’s monthly newsletter that aims to keep the cat lover on campus informed about a variety of issues relating to feline health.

Further, if you’re worried about leaving your cat alone while heading home for the weekend or a short break, there’s always the Bed and Biscuit, a local kennel complete with “cat condos far, far away from the doggies,” just fifteen minutes away from campus. So if you’re on the fence about bringing a fluffy ball of love into your life, remember this: the cuddles are endless, the cuteness is off the charts, and Cornell will be there to help you every step of the way.

 

Decided to adopt a kitty? Check out all the available darlings at the Ithaca Tompkins SPCA!

http://www.spcaonline.com/index.php/adoption/cats